ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 4, 1996 TAG: 9611040129
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FAIRFAX
SOURCE: Associated Press
U.S. Sen. John Warner gave his opponent a tongue-lashing Sunday for suggesting that the candidates' similar names could work to Democrat Mark Warner's advantage Election Day.
Mark Warner had remarked in print that being the first Warner listed on the ballot will be worth a couple of percentage points Tuesday.
His campaign theorizes that some ill-informed John Warner supporters will mistake Mark Warner for the 18-year incumbent.
Speaking before a Republican rally at a Northern Virginia fire station, John Warner angrily jabbed his finger at the newspaper article, and called Mark Warner's assertion an example of how much the political novice has to learn about Virginia politics.
``Virginia voters are intelligent and fair-minded,'' John Warner said. ``They are not going to make a mistake.''
John Warner has led handily in opinion polls since winning renomination for a fourth term in June, although a Richmond Times-Dispatch poll released Sunday shows the contest tightening. John Warner was preferred by 44 percent, to 33 percent for Mark Warner.
The race marks the first time Republican and Democratic Senate candidates with the same last name have faced off since the Constitution was amended to allow direct election of senators in 1913, according to Congressional Quarterly's ``Guide to U.S. Elections.''
A coin toss determined that Mark Warner's name will be listed above John Warner's on the ballot.
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESSby CNB